Inter-team communication in large-scale co-located software engineering: a case study

Large-scale software engineering is a collaborative effort where teams need to communicate to develop software products. Managers face the challenge of how to organise work to facilitate necessary communication between teams and individuals. This includes a range of decisions from distributing work over teams located in multiple buildings and sites, through work processes and tools for coordinating work, to softer issues including ensuring well-functioning teams. In this case study, we focus on inter-team communication by considering geographical, cognitive and psychological distances between teams, and factors and strategies that can affect this communication. Data was collected for ten test teams within a large development organisation, in two main phases: (1) measuring cognitive and psychological distance between teams using interactive posters, and (2) five focus group sessions where the obtained distance measurements were discussed. We present ten factors and five strategies, and how these relate to inter-team communication. We see three types of arenas that facilitate inter-team communication, namely physical, virtual and organisational arenas. Our findings can support managers in assessing and improving communication within large development organisations. In addition, the findings can provide insights into factors that may explain the challenges of scaling development organisations, in particular agile organisations that place a large emphasis on direct communication over written documentation.

Improved team communication in endoscopic procedures by digital enhanced telecommunication during the COVID-19 pandemic

Background and study aims Unbiased communication is crucial for excellent teamwork in high-quality endoscopy. Personal protective equipment (PPE) (FFP-masks and face-shields) worn by endoscopists that are ubiquitous in the current COVID-19 pandemic strikingly impair communication. Digital enhancement approaches to maintain team communication, especially during complex endoscopic procedures, are urgently warranted. Materials and methods A prospective, two-armed interventional study was performed at an endoscopy unit at a tertiary center in Germany. Two hundred and three endoscopic procedures with PPE se according to pandemic risk level were randomly assigned (1:1) to a group performed by an endoscopy team equipped with digital enhanced cordless telecommunication (DECT) or one without digital-enhanced communication. The primary outcome was the team-reported number of communication-associated events (CAEs) defined as misunderstandings that impaired workflow during endoscopic examination. Secondary outcomes included perceived voice and headphone quality and overall comfort with DECT during endoscopic work. Results The use of DECT was associated with a significant reduction in communication-associated events in endoscopic procedures and overall, was perceived positively. Conclusions Digital enhancement of communication is a promising and easy-to- establish tool for improving team communication quality in endoscopy.

Experiences of Black and White Family Hospice Caregivers: Anxiety, Depression, QOL, Burden, Hospice Communication

Although hospice care benefits seriously ill patients and their families, growing evidence suggests anxiety, depression, and altered quality of life are prevalent among family hospice caregivers. It is unknown if Black and white family hospice caregivers experience differences in mental health, quality of life, caregiver burden, or quality of hospice communication. In this secondary analysis of baseline data collected from 717 family hospice caregivers in two randomized clinical trials, we compared anxiety (GAD-7), depression (PHQ-9), quality of life (CQLI-R), caregiver burden (Zarit), and caregiver-reported quality of hospice team communication (CCCQ) between Black and white caregivers. Black and white caregivers differed demographically across multiple variables. In bivariate analysis, we found no differences in depression (P=0.3536), anxiety (P=0.0733), caregiver burden (P=0.6680), and perceptions of caregiver-centered hospice communication (P=0.4549). White caregivers reported lower quality of life than Blacks (P=0.0386), specifically in emotional (P=0.0321) and social (P=0.0002) domains. Financial and physical quality of life did not differ. In multivariate regression analyses controlling for caregiver and patient factors, we found no racial differences in depression (P= 0.5071), anxiety (P = 0.7288), quality of life (P=0.0584), caregiver burden (P=0.9465), or hospice communication (P=0.8779). Variables explained 7.7% to 20% of variability in outcomes, suggesting research is needed to understand which other factors contribute to hospice caregiver coping and communication experiences. Results suggest Black and white informal hospice caregivers experience similar levels of anxiety, depression, burden, and perceptions of hospice team communication quality. Interventions to support hospice caregivers across racial groups are needed.